Apparition destinations -- Haunted hotels offer more than a ghost of a chance you'll encounter a spirit By Brenda D. Farrell The Associated Press Oct. 29, 2000 The next time you're gripped by a sudden chill in your hotel room, you might ask the front desk to send up a ghostbuster instead of an air-conditioning repairman. Throughout America, historic hotels and inns are coming forward with unearthly tales of hauntings and mysterious happenings that are linked to legends of tragedy and loss. But rather than scaring travelers away, the mystery surrounding these stories is attracting overnight guests like teen-agers to the latest horror flick. Jim Moyer, general manager of The Crescent Hotel, a Victorian resort hotel built in the 1880s in Eureka Springs, Ark., says the hotel's history of spirits is used in its promotional materials; they even conduct daily tours of the "sighting" spots. "We have two kinds of guests -- those who don't believe in ghosts and therefore don't come here to experience anything unusual, and those who do believe in ghosts and come here hoping to see one," he says. Karen Silva, a professor of hotel management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., says she's not surprised that a significant number of hotels are using tales of hauntings to attract mortal guests. "People are fascinated by anything that's unusual, macabre or mysterious -- especially when they're traveling or visiting a new place," she says. "The idea of staying in a haunted hotel is intriguing -- it adds adventure to your trip. But it's also temporary -- you can check out of the hotel if you decide that the idea of meeting a ghost is just too spooky for you." Moyer, who admits that he has never personally encountered an entity during his three years as The Crescent Hotel's GM, insists reports of the sightings have come from very reliable sources. "I've had longtime employees who are skeptical about the spirits come to me and say that they saw the `Victorian Gentleman' in the lobby, or encountered `Theodora' in Room 419," he says. "More than one guest staying in that room has reported that he or she returned to find clothes strewn everywhere -- even though no one had been in the room." At The Crescent Hotel, it is said that Theodora and an entity called "Michael" (of Room 218) are linked to two separate events in the hotel's history. Michael is believed to be the spirit of an Irish stone mason who fell to his death during the hotel's construction in the 1880s. Theodora is reported to be a spirit who identifies herself as a cancer patient. >From 1937 until 1939, the hotel was used as a hospital for experimental cancer treatments. An apparition of a nurse pushing a gurney has been reported by several guests and employees in the hotel's basement, in the area that had been used as the hospital's morgue. Every year in September, The National Trust Historic Hotels of America (an arm of the National Trust for Historic Preservation) publishes an updated batch of stories about hauntings and sightings from its member hotels. The most recent group can be found on their Internet site, historichotels.nationaltrust.org. Among them: * Aspen, Colo.: A woman recently reported seeing a lost, shivering and soaking-wet boy in Room 310 of the Hotel Jerome. When a staff member arrived to help, the boy had vanished, leaving only wet footprints. At the time, no children were registered in the hotel. According to legend, a child had drowned in the hotel's original swimming pool. Room 310 is located in an addition to the hotel that was built over the original pool. (970) 920-1000 or www.hoteljerome.com. * Arkansas: The Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs has a rich legacy of paranormal activity. (800) 342-9766 or www.crescent-hotel.com. * California: The Hotel Coronado, located just outside San Diego, has a ghostly tale of unrequited love. In 1892, Kate Morgan checked into Room 3502 to meet her estranged husband for the Thanksgiving holidays. He never showed. Several days later, Kate's body was found on the hotel steps leading to the ocean. Ever since, workers and guests have been puzzled by odd noises, spirited breezes, strange faces and the ghostly figure of a young lady wearing a black lace dress. (619) 435-6611. The Mendocino Hotel & Garden Suites in Mendocino opened in 1878 as the Temperance House in a lively logging town of saloons and pool halls. But the hotel's history was not always pristine -- it served as a bordello for a number of years. Today, the hotel reports that a Victorian woman haunts tables 6 and 8 in the restaurant, appearing in the mirror. She has been seen in guest rooms and is said to be playful with the housekeepers. Contact: (707) 937-0511 or www.mendocinohotel.com. Opened in 1933, The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica was a place where patrons could enjoy alcoholic spirits during the Prohibition Era. Today, the hotel's Speakeasy restaurant is allegedly haunted. Invisible but audible ghosts have been reported, as well as transparent apparitions. In an otherwise empty restaurant, employees have heard loud sighs, disembodied voices calling "Good Morning," and the sound of running footsteps. Contact: (310) 395-9945 or www.georgianhotel.com. * New Orleans: A paranormal research team identified four ghosts at LaPavillon, a New Orleans landmark hotel dating to 1907. One, a frightened and confused teen-age girl named Eva or Ada, is believed to have lived during the 1840s and was preparing to embark on a ship when she was struck and killed by a carriage. There is also a report of a young aristocratic couple from the 1920s and a dark-suited man from the same era who plays pranks on the hotel staff. (504) 581-3111 or www.lepavillon.com. The spirit of a soldier with a preference for loud country music is said to reside at the Hotel Maison de Ville. A 23-year employee of the hotel first encountered the ghost some 20 years ago, while she was letting a guest into Cottage No. 4. She and the guest walked into the room and saw a man dressed in a military uniform. She felt a chill, shook a bit and then the apparition disappeared. The employee also reports that every time she changes the cottage's radio to a classical music station, the ghost changes it back to a country music station as soon as she leaves. Contact: (504) 561-5858 or www.maisondeville.com. * North Carolina: The mysterious Pink Lady has been seen, felt and experienced by hotel employees and guests at The Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville for more than a half century. Around 1920, a young woman dressed in pink fell to her death at the hotel's Palm Court Atrium. Separate accounts of unexplained severe cold chills in Room 545 and an apparition in a dense pink smoke, said to be a very gentle spirit, have been reported ever since. (828) 252-2711 or www.groveparkinn.com. * Vermont: The spirit of Mrs. Martin Brown is said to haunt the historic White House Inn of Wilmington, Vt. Both staff and guests have reported unexplainable cold spots, doors that open by themselves, and visible apparitions. One guest reported being visited by an elderly lady in the middle of the night, who sat in a chair by the bed and exclaimed, "One Mrs. Brown in this room is quite enough!" The guest's name also happened to be Mrs. Brown. (800) 541-2135, or www.whitehouseinn.com. * Washington, D.C.: Strange occurrences have been reported at The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel that seem to be linked to the inauguration of President Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge did not attend his own inaugural ball in 1925 because he was mourning the death of his 16-year-old son. Every year since 1937, on Jan. 20 -- Inauguration Day -- the lights in the Grand Ballroom flicker and dim at approximately 10 p.m., the time that the first guests were announced for Coolidge's inauguration. Hotel staff have reported finding a plate of exquisite hors d'oeuvres and a glass of fine wine in Grand Ballroom balcony. Neither item had been served at any function on that day. And one elevator refuses to move from the eighth floor to the lobby level until 10:15 p.m. -- the approximate time Coolidge would have arrived at the ball from his holding room. (202) 347-3000 or www.renaissancehotels.com. The Hay-Adams Hotel is allegedly haunted by the spirit of Clover Adams, the wife of original owner Henry Adams. It is said that the spirit of Mrs. Adams, who committed suicide in 1885, inhabits the fourth floor of the hotel. Staff have experienced the mysterious opening and closing of locked doors, clock radios mysteriously turning on and off, the sounds of a woman crying softly in a room or stairwell, and the voice of a woman asking a housekeeper, "What do you want?" in an empty room. Some housekeepers say they have been called by name and received a hug while cleaning rooms. These incidents happen most frequently during the first two weeks of December, around the anniversary of her death. (202) 638-6600 or www.hayadams.com.